A jury has retired to consider whether a southeast Queensland man was the "prime mover" behind an interstate firearm trafficking scheme to sell handguns on the criminal black market.
Wayne John Yanko, of Tamborine, has pleaded not guilty in the Brisbane District Court to four charges of cross-border disposal and acquisition of firearms.
The 59-year-old is accused of legally buying 131 handguns from Brisbane and Sydney through West Australian company Wyworrie Holdings with the intention of selling them unlawfully.
Yanko is alleged to have orchestrated the operation with Perth brothers Trevor and Gregory Manuel.
He and the brothers allegedly sourced the weapons, buying them for about $1000 each, from five gun-shops over two weeks from February 27, 2017.
Authorities blocked the shipment of some weapons and recovered others, but more than 80 remain unaccounted for and were believed to be circulated in the criminal underground, crown prosecutor Lincoln Crowley said earlier.
"You can conclude they have ended in the hands of people who are certainly not authorised to have them ... these weapons have effectively disappeared off the grid," he told the jury.
The court heard Trevor Manuel obtained a firearm dealer licence under the company name Wyworrie, registered in WA, to buy weapons during shopping expeditions in Queensland and NSW.
But Yanko was the driver of the scheme, Mr Crowley said in closing after two weeks of hearing evidence.
"He's the prime mover of this whole deal," Mr Crowley added.
Yanko instead claims he was in a "subservient" role to the Manuel brothers, defence barrister Andrew Hoare told the jury in his closing.
The court heard Yanko thought he was helping obtain stock for a "legitimate" and lawful business Trevor Manuel was setting up that would involve overseas travel.
Mr Hoare said CCTV footage showing Yanko outside a gun shop for 30 minutes while one brother was inside indicated his disinterest.
"He's in the car because at this stage he's disinterested in the plan as it's become," he added.
Mr Hoare said Yanko's behaviour was consistent with him being "shunted out" of the business because he hadn't provided funds.
"And it's not the business he wished to be in," Mr Hoare told the jury.
During the trial the jury was shown messages intercepted by authorities in which Yanko and Gregory Manuel tell Trevor Manuel to "get moving" in obtaining the dealer licence.
"Mate, just try and get Trevor's head into what we talked about," an intercepted message from Yanko states from December 2016.
When they finally got the licence in February 2017, they were "ready to roll" with the trio preparing a "wishlist' of handguns, the jury was told.
"The best ones to get and easy to sell is the Glock - I think Australian made, even the knockoffs. Trust me mate, even the knockoffs are good," Yanko wrote.
"I've seen a few, and they're not bad. It all depends on the price ... the quantity, that is. I think get 50 or so together ... we will soon know what is what, and what is not."
"Keep in touch with Trev ... that way, we roll. Get us rolling, then we can meet up in Qld and go from there and we won't look back. Cheers mate."
